Researchers found infants from birth through age 7 months were exposed to significantly more speech from mothers compared to fathers, and that infants preferentially responded to mothers' compared to fathers' speech. They also found parents may respond preferentially to children based on gender; mothers responded more frequently to girls rather than boys at birth and at 44 weeks postmenstrual age, and there were trends for fathers to respond preferentially to sons at 44 weeks. Overall language exposure increased over time for all infants as they matured.

Study authors conclude both mothers and fathers should be informed about the important benefits of parent talk for their child's language development.